Roll to Dodge IX: Monkey King's Misfits

Character Profiles

Satoshi Jotaro (SmilyTrope112), you have the following abilities:

• Religion: You have a great knowledge of Buddhism and have known of the other religions too. +1 to actions such as remembering a sutra or noticing something wrong at the statue of Buddha in that suspicious temple.
• Lifting: You are pretty strong. +1 to actions such as moving a stone Buddha out of the way or removing a well's top.

You also have these powers:

• Cryokinesis: You can make a small wall of ice and throw some ice balls around the size of an egg.
• Healing: You can heal a little, around 5~10 HP per use.

You speak, understand, write and read both Japanese and Chinese. You have some generic medicine, a book on Buddhism containing a few sutras and a knife. You carry around a staff as your weapon.

Xiao En (Immortalartisan), you have the following abilities:

• Spear Expertise: You are an expert on using the spear (mao), and as a result of that, also a few other weapons such as the dagger-axe with spear (ji) and some varieties of spears (such as the qiang). +1 to actions such as attacking with a spear or something similar. (Note: There are two main types of spear in China, and the difference between them is hard to notice. Some people say that mao are longer than qiang, but long qiang exist. Let's just ignore it and just say "spear" generically.)
• Heavy Armor Proficency: You fight better in a heavy armor. +1 to fighting actions when you are wearing a heavy armor.

You speak, understand, read and write Chinese. You have some basic antibiotics medicine, bandages , a hunting knife, a water skin, mail heavy armor and a steel helmet of a forgotten noble family. You carry around an Indian steel pike.

The Monkey King's Misfits, Chapter 1

The story tells of the group in the tavern, and of their unique selves.

The crow had finished her plate of okra, trilling a rhyme to herself.

The umbrella, leaning towards the wine barrels, looked around with his good eye.

The spirit-protected woman, after some moments of thinking, wrote these verses in her journal:

The scribe girl ordered a drink, and the attendant went swiftly to get some brook water from the storage room.

Two persons entered the tavern. One of them was a monk with a criminal past from the Kingdom of the Rising Sun, the other an armored soldier with a steel helm skilled with the spear.

They both went, sat at a table, and ordered. The monk asked for milk, and the soldier asked for milk and porridge. The attendants went to fetch the food and drinks.

The burly fellow roared: "Get me your finest wine!". And so the tavernkeeper himself went and got a big bowl and started to fill it with a barrel's wine.

The crow, not knowing anything better, went to return her plate, and along with the umbrella, the spirit-protected woman, the demon child and the scribe girl, she read the ad while the farmer raised up an ear. The ad went:

When they had finished reading it, the burly fellow's bowl was filled to the brim, and the attendants had brought the food and drinks to the scribe, the monk and the soldier.

The hog, having risen up, tried to steal the boy's peach, but he failed and hit the wall instead as the boy had stood up to read the ad.

The tavernkeeper had given the wine to the fellow, and said:

"That's the latest notice the goverment made. The demons have been eating people for three days already, and today's the Eighth Day of the Eighth Lunar Month. If nobody does anything, we might all die in two days. Some people have tried to fight the demons, but they were too many, and they all died. So we all hope either legendary stalwart heroes come to help, or that the army does work."

Suddenly, a voice was heard in the street, and a jumpy man entered the tavern. Look at him:

If you want to know who is this stranger and what shall our travellers do about the demons, now that they know the situation, listen to our next chapter to know.

Ohh! Demon problems and mysterious stranger! What shall you do? Are you more interested in the reward, the glory, or are you fighting for the people? Or you aren't that much interested in the demons, and want to focus in another thing?

Edited by JTTWlover on Sep 4th 2020 at 9:25:19 PM

Li, trying to look like an innocent child, decided to not raise too much suspicion.

>Greet the stranger kindly and wholeheartedly

Edited by DookieIdiotNimrod on Sep 2nd 2020 at 5:54:16 AM

(i gotta say i really like this prose, its nice)

The White Bull Spirit scoffs. It's not like he has any reason to care for these humans. It's not like they've ever stuck their necks out for him. Let the demons come, he thinks. Let them know for once how it feels to be eaten.

As for this mysterious stranger... Well, it's not White Bull's business, but it's not like there's a law against eavesdropping.

>Drink down the bowl of wine and listen to the man's conversation. Ask for another bowl when I'm done.

Yanzi notices the stranger.

>Greet the stranger by showing him a sacred parchment and addressing him.

Edited by AdeptGaderius on Sep 2nd 2020 at 5:57:58 AM

Not wanting to get involved with demonic issues, they opt to

Sister Crow turns her head toward this mysterious stranger. She sits down to make space, inclining her head slightly down, folding her legs neatly and properly... sitting, more like perching, on a table.

> Listen to the conversation with the Stranger

Edited by PointMaid on Sep 2nd 2020 at 9:11:53 AM

>Tian notices the pig looks hungry. Knowing how much it sucks to be hungry (and how much it sucks to be around a hungry pig), he gives him his last steam bun.

>"I don't care about the money, but if they aim to eat everyone, then we can't just sit around waiting for them to come and get us. We gotta do something!"

I do need some more money and it’s just my work

>try and figure out where scarlet mountain is from here

[Kitakaze ponders the ad. A king of demons, eh? Sure, he may be a demon in secret himself, but... this sounds like a good opportunity for some fun That's when he notices the stranger—maybe he could be of some use.]

>inquire the stranger about their knowledge of the ad

Edited by KungFuCutBug on Sep 2nd 2020 at 5:28:20 AM

Mel is intrigued by the ad and the stranger. However, she realizes she needs to get back to her boat soon and decides to:

> Eavesdrop on the stranger's conversation

Ah. A demon bounty. He hadn’t expected to find a job so soon after arriving, but really, why not sooner than later?

Time to get to work.

Junpei extracts himself from his corner with a yawn, striding through the thick of people on the tavern floor without so much as a glance backwards—and plopping down in the bar seat right next to the Stranger.

>As soon as a lull takes hold of their conversation, he turns to speak:

“Say, tavernkeep. Anything you can spill about this demons’ nest? Those fighters, especially, where exactly did this happen to them?”

He meets gazes with the Stranger. Askance, but deliberate. “Don’t suppose you have anything to share?”

Hm... tricksy boy... I shall have to try harder...

>Make for the peach again

The Monkey King's Misfits, Chapter 2

The story tells of how the group had known that demons were attacking Chang'an, and that a stranger entered the tavern.

The demon child, smiling, greeted the stranger with respect.

The stranger laughed and pat the kid in his head three times.

"What a sweet kid."

Suspicious, the scribe greeted the stranger with a sacred parchment.

The stranger laughed again, greeting the scribe and saying that name of Amitābha Buddha at the end. When she looked at him again, she saw some auspicious light around him, which dimmed down slowly until she could only see a light comparable to a firefly in the day.

The burly man scoffed. As a White Bull Spirit born out of the fallen Oxen, he didn't care about what happened to the humans, who mistreated his kind. He downed his drink in one gulp, and then roared for another one. The tavernkeeper quickly refilled his bowl.

The crow sat down, like perching, in a seat, and listened to the stranger, like the monk and the spirit-protected girl.

The soldier tried to recall where Scarlet Mountain was, and was reminded of the time he had almost died in that place, fifty-four li at the southwest of the city. Indeed:

The farmer gave the pig his last bun, while it attempted to steal the peach from the boy again. This time it succeeded, and ate the peach out of the demon child's hand.

The farmer, with an heroic tone as he talked, said:

"I don't care about the money, but if they aim to eat everyone, then we can't just sit around waiting for them to come and get us. We gotta do something!"

The stranger laughed. "I like your spirit, boy. It would take just a few men like you to take them down, if their magic wasn't that strong."

The umbrella, curious and a fun-seeker, inquired the stranger about the notice. And similarly, the demon-concealer asked:

"Say, tavernkeep. Anything you can spill about this demons' nest? Those fighters, especially, where exactly did this happen to them?"

The tavernkeeper looked at the demon-concealer, and said:

"I don't know anything about the demons' nest, but the fighters all died in battle when they fought the demons yesterday and the day before. First they attacked the northeastern part of the city, the next day the northwestern part, and yesterday the southwestern part. I'm afraid that today shall be the southeastern part we are in, and the time is near. They always attack at the start of the Wei hour, and that's less than an hour from now."

The demon-concealer met gazes with the Stranger. Askance, but deliberate. He asked:

"Don't suppose you have anything to share?"

The stranger laughed again. He looked at the demon-concealer, and turned around so he could face everyone in the tavern.

"I've passed by the Scarlet Mountain yesterday while coming here. It is fifty-four li in the southwest of the city. If you took off right now, you'd arrive when the sun sets. The mountain has a malicious look, and with all the black smoke and evil beasts there, and most people wouldn't be able to survive at night or cross by the day. The Wild Red Cave is almost at the top of it. It has a big, red door, and there is written "Scarlet Mountain" in the right and "Wild Red Cave" in the left. I've also seen the Yellow Furred Demon King. He's around seven chi tall, and his face is similar to a wolf's, but yellow. He wears an orange and black armor, of a type I've never seen before, and he laughed madly when I saw his small demons had came back with their prey."

The stranger took another cup of wine, and then continued his tale.

"When he finished laughing, he said: 'No one will stop me when I come with my ten thousand army, for that every demon I have can fight at least five men together, and I can defeat hundreds of them in combat. Not even if the Emperor manages to get all the troops in the country, I shall be beaten.' I chuckled and continued my trip until I arrived here, hoping to find some heroes to give this information to."

If you want to know how did our travellers reacted to the stranger's information and what they did, listen to the next chapter to know.

The mysterious stranger did an info-dump! What shall you do? Are going to fight the demons, or it isn't your thing to do? What are your reactions to the info-dump? Are you guys going to ask the stranger for his name?

Glossary:

• Li: Ancient Chinese unit of measure of distance. Here, equivalent to half an kilometer, or around 0.31 miles. Scarlet Mountain is 27 kilometers or 16.78 miles southwest from the city.
• Wei: One of the Chinese "Hours" (consist of two hours). From 1 PM to 3 PM. The hour of the Sheep. Before it, there is the hour of the Horse, Wu, which also means Afternoon.
• Chi: Ancient Chinese unit of measure of distance/length. Here, equivalent to 30 cm, or around almost a feet (0.98 a feet). The YFDM is 210 cm or 6.89 feet (6'10 and a half") tall.

Edited by JTTWlover on Sep 4th 2020 at 9:26:22 PM

“Us? Why us?”

"So... You wish for us to storm the mountain and the demon fortress?" It isn't his place, but White Bull can't help himself. He hates it when humans act foolishly, and a reckless act like this is plenty foolish.

"And do you really expect anyone here to succeed? You said it yourself, the demon king has an army of ten thousand demons, who can all take five men each. You would need an army fifty thousand strong, and yet you propose to march in there with a group of ten men?"

White Bull scoffs, gulping down half his bowl of wine.

"If you wish to help your people, getting yourself killed will accomplish nothing. You earn nothing by playing hero."

With that, he gulps down the rest of his wine and slams his fist on the table.

"Tavernkeeper, another!"

Jotaro seems to find this information.......intriguing. They wished to go exploring, and here's an opportunity presenting itself. So, they finish their drink, put their book away and

Sister Crow shifted her weight. "The farmer is right, I cannot just sit here. They will leave nothing, not even a sheet of paper. If trained warriors cannot defeat this army, well... perhaps I must find another way than meeting them head on in combat. But I will help.

I believe you know more than what you let on. You mean more than you say, sir. But I am good at deciphering words."

> Ask the Stranger about any information they can give about finding another way to defeat the demons other than straight-on combat. What is this demon and their army, and can they give you any hint as to any weaknesses?

Edited by PointMaid on Sep 3rd 2020 at 10:11:25 AM

Yanzi stands up from her table, looking brave. She rolls up another sacred parchment containing the epithets of the Tocharian deities. She says a prayer, hoping to gain the favor of the Tocharian pantheon.

"A strong demon unbeatable by any warrior. The demon king Yellow Furred is a pompous coward. He talks big and fights greatly, but he is inferior compared to the totality of the Tocharian pantheon and the Buddhas. I'll seize the chance to fight the demons on my own. My mentor taught me demons are weak to Ancestral Recall and Buddhist prayers."

> Ask the stranger to journey to Scarlet Mountain

"A demon army....." Alarmelmangai thought to herself

She wasn't a native of the area, however this occurance didn't seem too far-fetched considering the rakshasas still roaming about the liminal spaces of Sri Lanka, several centuries after Rama's battle against them and their ruler, Ravana. And while she did want to help she couldn't abandon her crew on the boat and so she had simply decided to

> Leave the tavern

At the Stranger’s reply, a lazy, feline grin crawls its way onto Junpei’s features. “You sure seem to know a lot, for just any old ‘passerby’. And what was that I heard? That most normal people wouldn’t be able to cross by day?”

Doesn’t matter now, anyway... that’s all I needed to know. “Thanks. Might want to tell this Yellow friend of yours I’m popping in to visit.”

>While these folk are busy arguing about heroics, leave the tavern and start heading for the most recent attack site southwest.

>On the way, analyse the information the Stranger gave to try and figure out what sort of demon this could be

>"Say, I've heard that bad demons can be kept away with magic writing. Is it possible we could do something like, for example, writing them on all the buildings or, like, someone's shirt?"

Edited by dvorak on Sep 3rd 2020 at 8:20:18 AM

[Kitakaze grins and nods to the stranger.] "I'm pretty interethted in thith thort of adventure. Thure, it'll probably get me killed, but who'th to thay I won't have thome fun along the way? Thankth for the informathion, thir." [He has a noticeable lisp.]

>"Actually, now that I think of it... what'th your name?"

Considering from what it seems that everyone here is going to the demon mountain

>propose you all form a group to attack the mountain

The Monkey King's Misfits, Chapter 3

The story tells of the group in the tavern, and how the stranger had replied to their questions about the demons.

The demon child, not having noticed his peach missing, asked innocently: "Why us?"

"So... You wish for us to storm the mountain and the demon fortress?" Said the burly fellow. While he didn't care about the matter, he considered the reckless act plenty foolish, and hated when humans acted like that.

"And do you really expect anyone here to succeed? You said it yourself, the demon king has an army of ten thousand demons, who can all take five men each. You would need an army fifty thousand strong, and yet you propose to march in there with a group of ten men?"

The bull demon scoffed, gulping down half his bowl of wine.

"If you wish to help your people, getting yourself killed will accomplish nothing. You earn nothing by playing hero."

With that, he gulped down the rest of his wine and slammed his fist on the table.

"Tavernkeeper, another!"

And so the tavernkeeper quickly refilled his bowl.

The stranger laughed.

"I never said that you have to go to defeat the demons. I just mentioned what the demon king said when I saw them while passing by the mountain. I do have a scheme for dealing with the demons, and I could use a strong man, but I guess the people, the cattle and all sorts of other animals will have to die in the demon attacks."

The crow shifted her weight, and then said:

"The farmer is right, I cannot just sit here. They will leave nothing, not even a sheet of paper. If trained warriors cannot defeat this army, well... perhaps I must find another way than meeting them head on in combat. But I will help. I believe you know more than what you let on. You mean more than you say, sir. But I am good at deciphering words."

And then the stranger smiled at her. "You've got both a good spirit and a great mind, young girl."

The demon-concealer smirked, having observed, like the crow, something special about the stranger.

"You sure seem to know a lot, for just any old 'passerby'. And what was that I heard? That most normal people wouldn't be able to cross by day?"

"That's right, young man." Said the stranger. "The mountain has tigers and wolves in the forest, and snakes lurking in the river. Most normal people wouldn't be able to cross. It took me a great effort to get up the mountain and then down."

The demon-concealer observed the stranger as he said:

"Thanks. Might want to tell this Yellow friend of yours I'm popping in to visit."

He then left the tavern and started heading west, while thinking of what kind of demon the Yellow Furred Demon King could be. He didn't manage to determine which exact species it was, but got a general idea of him being either a yellow dog, a golden jackal, or a fox. We will say no more of the demon-concealer as he heads to the latest attack place.

The monk asked: "How could we keep safe at Scarlet Mountain?"

The stranger replied: "Most travellers don't cross by there, as it's too dangerous. But when they must cross because time is dawning on them, there is a way to be safe. Carrying a monk's staff and wearing makeshift armor is the safest way. You can block the snakes in the river, and then run through the forest at noon, as most of the tigers are asleep and the wolves aren't that active yet. If you run as fast as you can, you can exit the forest in fifteen minutes. After you cross the forest, a few li and you would gotten out of the mountain. The most important thing is not to waste any time, because if you did, you'd be dead even before crossing the river."

The scribe rolled up another sacred parchment containing the epithets of her dieties. She said a prayer, hoping to gain the favor of the Tocharian pantheon.

"A strong demon unbeatable by any warrior. The demon king Yellow Furred is a pompous coward. He talks big and fights greatly, but he is inferior compared to the totality of the Tocharian pantheon and the Buddhas. I'll seize the chance to fight the demons on my own. My mentor taught me demons are weak to Ancestral Recall and Buddhist prayers."

After that, she asked the stranger to travel to Scarlet Mountain, to which the stranger only smiled and waited.

The spirit-protected woman thought for a few moments about the rakshasas still roaming around back in her homeland, several centuries after a hero battled against them and their ruler. And while she did want to help she couldn't abandon the crew she had on the boat back in the Wei River and so she decided to leave the tavern.

Not long after she had left, she suddenly bumped into an old woman carrying a basket of vegetables. The chives and the onions hit the floor, the bamboo was almost rooted back into the earth and the cabbage was almost crashed.

The spirit-protected woman quickly apologized, and then helped the old woman to put the vegetables back in the basket, then asked: "Granny, why are you getting vegetables all by yourself?"

The old woman looked at her tenderly, and said: "Young girl, I am the only one at my home who is able to go to the market. My husband died two years ago, and my daughter and son-in-law were killed by demons three days ago. At home there is only my grandson, less than seven. My son lives far away in the Hai Prefecture, and I couldn't reach him. I fear that if I am killed today, my grandson won't have any relative left and will become an orphan."

"I'll help you with the basket, granny." Said the spirit-protected woman.

"Thank you, young girl. You have a kind heart."

We will say no more of the spirit-protected woman as she carries the old woman's basket to her home and we will return to the tavern.

The crow, having thought of the situation and the stranger's explanations, asked about about any information he could give about finding another way to defeat the demons other than straight-on combat, and if he had detected any weaknesses on them.

The stranger nodded. "While combat may be inevitable, there is a way to defeat them. The demons gain their strength in numbers, so if we manage to separate and slowly get rid of the demons, defeating them will be easy."

"Say, I've heard that bad demons can be kept away with magic writing. Is it possible we could do something like, for example, writing them on all the buildings or, like, someone's shirt?" Said the farmer.

The stranger laughed. "My instinct tells me that somehow these demons won't be kept away with simple magical writing. They seemed different to the demons here."

The umbrella grinned and nodded to the stranger. With a strong lisp, he says: "I'm pretty interethted in thith thort of adventure. Thure, it'll probably get me killed, but who'th to thay I won't have thome fun along the way? Thankth for the informathion, thir."

"Actually, now that I think of it... what'th your name?" Asked the umbrella.

The stranger smiled. "My name? I've got hundreds of names. My birth name, my dharma name, my nickname, and all the titles I've got! But for the moment, you can call me Mister Sun."

The soldier, speaking last because of his memories, proposed forming a group to attack the mountain.

But Mister Sun said no, because before running into the demons' cave, there was still an attack to be prevented. So he told the group that if they wanted to defeat the demons and save the people and the animals, that they joined him and fought when the demons arrived.

If you want to know which travellers joined and how the demon attack was handled, listen to our next chapter to know.

Mysterious Stranger, aka Mister Sun, has a plan! Will you join his clause and fight the demons? Remember that they will arrive in less than an hour!

Glossary:

• Li: Ancient Chinese unit of measure of distance.
• Onions: Not the onions you cry at. Chinese onions are different.

Edited by JTTWlover on Sep 11th 2020 at 5:30:03 PM

Jotaro thinks over his options, and then

> Join Mister Sun's Attack Squad.